Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Just In Time

This show really shouldn't be my cup of tea. I don't like biopics, I don't really love the big band style of music, I'm suspicious of stunt casting (which this is dangerously close to but I think technically avoids). However, the more I see from this show, the more fun it seems. I like the cast, I like the design choices, I do think it's an interesting take on the biopic formula, and I think overall this is one of the best versions of this show that could exist. Everyone says that this show is about Jonathan Groff being a showman and everyone just having a good time, so I was excited to see another example of that on this parade.

Yep, I think this performance was exactly what it was supposed to be. It was a medley (as it was always going to be), the band was swanky and fun, Jonathan was charming (as was the fun Bowen Yang cameo), it was fun to see Sarah Hyland & Sarah Dickerson get in on the fun (I don't think I've seen anything since they joined the cast), and we got the iconic splish splash dance break. Splish Splash was my way into Bobby Darin (through my neice's musical taste), so I was delighted to see that represented. I remember hearing that Jonathan is leaving the show, and I expect ticket sales will go with him, which I think is fine, I don't know that this show needs to run a long time, but I think I can be glad it was there and glad I got to see it perform here on the parade again. Certainly plenty to be thankful for.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Ragtime

I'll be honest, there is a small part of me that feels like we don't really NEED another Ragtime revival that does it the traditional way, however I am also kind of excited for this one. The last Ragtime revival came about when I was firt getting into Broadway and I remember being really excited about it, but was bummed when it never even got a recording. So now the fact that it's coming back with this all-star cast does have me a little excited. Is it new and interesting? No. But does it have the potential for being the best iteration of the old version we're likely to see? Yeah, I think it might be.

Before we started, the prediction in our household was that they would begin with the opening and then end with Wheels of Dream, so they through us a bit of a curveball by flipping them. I'll be honest, it started on a low note. I love Joshua Henry so much, but this was not his best lip-syncing performance (and if I'm being honest, not quite my favorite vocal performance, but that's just me). However I did enjoy them ending with the opening. The scale of this show is one of it's greatest strengths and I love the way that was on display here. While they didn't really dance and they weren't really singing, it did make me want to see that group of people do the whole show.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Buena Vista Social Club

I have never been a huge fan of this show in general, but I certainly acknolwedge that it is objectively good. I'm honestly a bit surprised it's still running but glad it's finding an audience and so happy for the folks who get to see something very different from the rest of what's on broadway.

This performance did seem pretty similar to their Tony performance to me (which is fine) but it did celebrate some of the best parts of this show. The musicians are super impressive (although I presume they weren't playing live today) and the dancing was beautiful (probably was live). Putting the band on a truck was an interesting choice that felt a little superfluous but I guess didn't hurt. As is the way, this performance didn't really make me want to see the show, but I think that's because it's not my kind of show. If it is your kind of show, this performance shows its strengths, and I guess that's all you can ask for.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Redwood

Not quite our standard "Broadway Parade performance," but it was a Broadway cast performing a song from the show so I think it counts. People have been talking about Redwood for years. Idina Menzel has been a part of it from the very beginning (she's credited as one of the writers) and while that's most of what anybody talks about when they talk about the show, I think it has a lot of potentential even outside of her attachment. It's an original show that isn't based off anything, and it's got a solid creative team, with writer director Tina Landau, music supervisor extraordinare Tom Kitt, and a relative newcomer to Broadway, composer Kate Diaz. I'm cautiously optimistic that this show could be really good, so I was excited to see the performance, even if it's just on a float.

So I'll be honest, I think this song is pretty good. I liked the melody, it had some solid lyrics, Idina gave a great performance, all of that was excellent. My one issue is maybe the orchestration? It sounded very "produced," very "hip hop," which would generally be fine, but it felt like a weird choice for a song about getting into nature to get away from the rush of our increasingly tehnologicial world. I wouldn't be surprised if in the show, the song starts more acoustic and they just kind of cut to the moment where the song built and that made it look more jarring than it needed to, which I guess is fair, but for here it didn't quite work. Nonetheless, I'm still looking forward to the show, and this did make me care more about the bronx zoo float than I ever have in the past, so maybe that's a win?

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: The Outsiders

For being a movie (and book) adaptation, I actually do enjoy The Outsiders pretty well. I think it's got great music, a dynamic cast, a compelling story (the show did actually make me read/listen to the book), and some of the most exciting fight choreography I've ever seen. So I'm pumped for them to get a parade performance and looking forward to their energetic performance!

This probably was my favorite performance yet. I like the number (Tulsa 1967) and while the opening bit with Brody Grant was a little low energy (I don't know what the crowd behind him was threatened with, but they looked terrified), but once the rest of the cast got there, I thought it was great! I was impressed that at least one of the guys still tried the "running on the tire" stunt in the rain, and I thought all of the dancing continued to be super impressive, especially with the environmental concerns. The transiation into the finale was a little jarring and I think unnecessary, but I guess I can't fault them too much for wanting to squeeze "Stay Gold" in there. I also appreciate that Ana Gasteyer made the joke about them performing in the rain on Broadway, that was a good touch. I think this is our last pre-parade performance :( but not a bad one to end on. Happy Parade everyone!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Death Becomes Her

I have to say, people have been excited for this show for a while but it's never really captured my attention a ton. Yesterday I started listening to the sounds of the soundtrack they released, and the music was kind of fun, but I still do think it might not be for me. That being said, it is the only real new show to perform this year, so I was excited to see it on the list. This is my first chance to really see something from this show, so I was excited to be drawn in.

This song was an interesting choice. I think shows like this that are so built around their star power might have a disadvantage when it comes to parade performances, because they don't really feature the kind of high energy ensemble numbers that are usually best for parade performances. Having Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty do the introduction was a good choice, and the song they chose did feature a nice ensemble, even if I wouldn't necessarily call it "high energy." This one didn't work as well in the rain, but this cast didn't miss a beat. They stayed focused and looking slick as ever as they hit their marks and stared deeply into the camera lenses. Michelle Williams also did a good enough job (although the lip syncing wasn't the best) and those costumes were definitely wonderful. I think this performance still didn't necessarily turn me into a devout fan, but I think it might have done a good job at reaching it's target audience, so I'll give it props for that. All in all, 3.5 of 5 stars.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Hell's Kitchen

I feel relatively "meh" about Hell's Kitchen myself. I think it's a good enough show for what it is. I'm just not a huge fan of Jukebox musicals and the soundtrack here doesn't really do a ton for me, but I think it has good stuff. I like the energy of the show and I do think the costume/scenic design/choreography is pretty fun. Nonetheless, I can't say I came into this show with super specific or high hopes.

The songs they chose make sense. The opening number is a great energy to start with, and ending with Empire State of Mind is also a must I suppose. I thought the cast did great. Honestly, dancing in the rain kind of added to the gritty New York feel, so while I feel bad for the cast, they worked it. It also kind of looked like they might have been singing live somewhat? If that's the case, that's pretty cool. Only critique is I don't know that I needed them to keep cutting away to the crowd, that seemed kind of unnecessary and distracting, but camera choices aside, I think the show itself did a good job and I had a good time watching.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Back to the Future

I don't have super strong feelings about this show. I listened to the London soundtrack an enjoyed a few of the new numbers (most everything George does in the show is excellent, most everything Dr. Scott does is not so great), but feel mostly mediocre about the show. I will say, the folks I know who have seen it say it's pretty fun, mostly because of the production value and the nostalgia (to quote my sister, "It's a great show for dads") which doesn't necessarily always lend itself to a parade performance, but I was still excited. Partially because I do enjoy Roger Bart and I'm proud of Casey Likes (a Jimmy Award kid) for his second Broadway lead in somewhat disappointing jukebox adjacent musicals.

For one thing, they really kept us waiting for this one. Instead of stacking all the performances at the beginning, they really strung this one along, but it finally came. I was banking on them doing Power of Love (their goto), but instead they did a medley of songs to feature their two stars, which is good...unfortunately, I don't really care for either of the songs. "It Works" has never been as funny as it wants to be for me and "Back In Time" does still kind of belong as credits music in my opinion. The show also does loose a little without all the scenic and lighting effects, so this might not be the best showcase of what they do, but they seemed to be having a good time, so I guess that's an ok way to end this year's parade.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Shucked

I think Shucked is very fun. I enjoy the silly shows, I like how clever the jokes are, and there are moments that are legitimately heartfelt. I know this show is closing soon, which is fair, but kind of sad. For that reason, I'm a little suprised that it's performing, but not dissapointed. I really hope this show gets a solid end of its run and I'm excited to see all the regional productions that are coming, and I'm excited that they got to perform here!

I'll be honest, I was a little worried when floats and bands started crossing before the Broadway performances were done. I was stressed that I had heard it wrong or maybe we weren't atually going to get Shucked. But then, when I heard that music while seeing "The JGG" behind them, I got super excited! And truly, that opening was inspired. If any show was going to sell out and be a comercial, this is a great show to do it. I loved the original jokes/lyrics at the beginning (It's no Beetlejuice, but it's a astart), I liked the medley of song choices, I like the topical food related content, across the board, this is my favorite performance yet. Good work team.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: How to Dance in Ohio

I AM SO PSYCHED FOR THIS SHOW!!! Evertyhing I've heard about it is amazing. I love the music, the message, the story, everything about this show is perfect. I've been gobbling up every piece of media about this show to come out and so I was really excited for this performance

I'll be honest, I was nervous at the beginning. While I do enjoy "Getting Ready for the Dance" I really wanted to see the kids. That being said, the Macy's joke was a good one, and so I'll forgive it. The finale is a song I haven't heard yet, but it does reprise Building Momentum which is a VERY GOOD song (streaming on spotify and YouTube now). While the dance break was a little underwhelming, I think it did a good song of showcasing these excellent characters and performers, which is what the show is about, so I think that's a fine thing for this performance to be about. This show has a lot of heart and I think that came through in this performance. I'm just so exited for these kids making their broadway debut and so excited for this show to be put out into the world.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Spamalot

There's probably an argument to be made that we don't need another Spamalot revival. It's not been too long since the last one and this new revival isn't trying to do anything different or new with the material. It's just the same show with a new generation of comic geniuses, but there's something kind of fun in that. To see the shoes once filled by Tim Curry, Christian Borle and David Hyde Pierce now filled by folks like James Monroe Iggleheart, Ethan Slater, and Michael Urie is kind of fun (also, in Chris Sieber's role is Nik Walker, who I've been following since he was in highschool, so that's fun for me). I don't think it'll run forever, but it's fun and fun for now, and I hadn't seen any full song yet, so I was excited for this performance.

This performance was exactly what I thought it would be, which was a vaguely goood time. Nothing to change the world, but something to bring the new world to. The people are funny, the song is a classic, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was a good reminder to us all that even with a pro like Leslie Kritzer, trying to lip-sync scatting is hard.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: & Juliet

We all know that Jukebox musicals aren't really my thing, and honestly, pop music often isn't either, so by all accounts and purposes, & Juliet maybe doesnt make sense to be something I enjoy, but if we're being honest, this show is a ton of fun, and I enjoy most of their performances. I like the shakespeare of it all, I like most of the cast, I like the dance style, it's all just a blast, so I was pretty excited for this performance and think it's a great choice to start off this year's performances.

I was excited by the song choice. I hadn't seen this one performed before and I do like this song on the soundtrack. That being said, I was a tad underwhelmed by this performance. The choreography was excellent as always, but seemed a little small for the stage. And the song kind of falls into the trap many pop jukebox musicals fall into, which is that it doesn't really build or do anything, you just kind of repeat the chorus over and over again. This song has the potential to include an arc with Francois's character, but I thought his performance was a little understated. So, I don't know, everything was fine, and I still think the show would be fun for most asual broadway audiences to see, but this particular performance was a little lower energy than I might have hoped...

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Six

I don't expect there's anyone who stumbles onto this blog who hasn't already heard my take on Six the musical, but I don't have anything else to say about it so here it is again. The music: Spectacular. Catchy melodies, witty lyrics, fun takes, truly excellently written songs with very few "skip tracks." That being said, does it belong on Broadway? No, no it does not. It deserves to win the fringe festival it was written for, it deserves to have a great run on a cruise ship or in a theme park, and I don't even hate the idea of it touring in the way that concerts tour. But nobody will ever convince me that it has a place on Broadway. Thank you for coming (back) to my Ted Talk.

As for what I have to say about this performance, you can basically just read last year's post. They sang the same medly, about half of the women were new and that was fun I suppose, and they all continue to be very talented ladies singing a very good song. If anyone hasn't seen this show yet, this song will give them a great idea of what to expect and I know that's what these performances are meant to do. But for those of us who have seen any of their promotional performances already...it's nothing revolutionary.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Moulin Rouge

Ok, coming at you later on Thanksgiving to talk to you about the CBS performances. It took me a while to realize these existed and they still don't have the fun and nostalgia of the NBC, Macy's Square performances, but I do have to admit that sometimes they give pretty good performances. I'm pleased with how often they show us a new song and it's fun to sometimes see the new casts of shows that have been running for a while. Both were the case with this year's Moulin Rouge performance. I've been somewhat vocal about how I think Moulin Rouge is, like, fine I guess, but not worth the hype that it's gotten. Nonetheless, I was excited to see Derek Klena & Ashley Loren's take on the roles and thought it was great that they did a (somewhat) new song that wasn't Diamonds or Come What May.

I have to say that this was one of my favorite sequences in the original movie and I don't know that the update added anything necessarily, but I get why they wanted to flesh it out to fit with the vibe of the rest of the show. The new songs mashed in are fine and all in all it's still a strong number. I was a bit taken aback by how different Derek Klena's voice sounds to Aaron Tveits (and Ewan McGregor if we're being honest). I think he's technically still a tenor but his voice has this deeper, fuller quality that makes him sound older than Aaron, despite looking younger, so that was a bit jarring I think. Nonetheless, I thought Ashley was excellent and the song was fine. The staging wasn't super exciting, watching this didn't make me any more inclined to see the show live, but I did appreciate this reminder that the cast is wonderfully talented and the show is what it is, and has it's place, and I don't have to go too near that place.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: A Beautiful Noise

I've been hearing a lot about this show for a long time because it's produced by Mr. Ken Davenport who has an excellent (although, I admit, increasingly less excellent) blog about all of his theatrical goings on. Personally, I could not be less interested in a Niel Diamond Jukebox musical, but but when it was announced, my dad, mom, and grandma all perked up a little, which I guess was entirely the point.

The performance was underwhelming for me. The costumings were relatively uninspired, the dancing honestly seemed a little sloppy to me, and Will Swenson was doing his best strutting around pretending to play the guitar, but it didn't quite capture my attention entirely. That being said, if history holds, it'll be marvelously successful, Will swenson will win the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, and it will sell out to tourists for years to come. And I guess, good for them?

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Some Like It Hot

I'll be honest, I was worried about this show. Like many folks, I'm not a huge fan of the recent trend of taking my favorite comedic broadway actors in dresses to be laughed at (looking at you rob McClure & Santino Fontana), so I was a little worried about Christain Borle joining their ranks. However, everything I've heard says that this show is pretty good. The book is updated and the songs are catchy and the cast is doing a great job! I still don't anticipate it being my favorite show of the season, but I'm excited for what it does have to offer and was glad to see a number from it!

I'll be honest, I'm bummed that Mr. Borle wasn't present for this performance (not entirely sure why), but the rest of the cast did great! Loved the tappin', enjoyed the singing, and thought the whole vibe was pretty good. I guess I was expecting something a little...wackier from this show? This was super classy and super classic, but maybe that was intentional and is the branding they're loking for? It's not necessarily something that would draw me to the show, but I suppose the target audience would be people who are familiar with the movie and this would get them interested. So, not for me necessarily, but I suppose good on them.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade: The Lion King

With the recent announcement of The Phantom of the Opera closing on Broadway, it's started some confversation about what the next longest running show on Broadway will be. And while I think the Chicago revival currently still holds the next top slot, myself and many others are hoping that closes soon enough to give Lion King the honor, one that i think will be entirely deserved. This is truly one of the most gorgeous and quintessentially theatrical shows to ever grace the Great White Way and I appreciate every opportunity to remind the world of that.

Was it a great performance? Yeah, you bet it was! Almost every member of my family watching this said out loud, "man, I forgot how good this is and I'd love to see this again." The visuals are gorgeous, the sound is heavenly, and every performer was completely on point. I was a bit dissapointed that they kept cutting to children in the audience, but I suppose there's something to be said for it because it was cool to see the agape faces. All in all, I'm inclined to say this performance wasn't anything revolutionary, becuase they've been doing it for 25 years, but in some ways, it still kind of is.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Funny Girl

So when they announced that Funny Girl was performing on the parade, we all knew that they'd have to do this song. It's the most famous song in the show, and one of the few parade specific songs in the broadway canon, so it just makes sense. And like, objectively, I suppose it was a pretty good performance and a pretty good opening to the parade. In some ways it feels like it barely counts as a Broadway performance, because I wouldn't be surprised if, in some previous parade, they just got a different celebrity (or maybe just Lea Michele) to sing this song without a dancing ensemble behind her. But nonetheless, they did it.

I'm going to stay out of the conversation about Lea Michele in the role (if anyone's interested, you can read someone else's thoughts on it here). But I will say that she sang it well, and I appreciate them using the ensemble to spice it up at least a little. It didn't make me want to see the show any more, but I suppose it probably was the best they could've done.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Chicago

Oh Chicago, what can I say about this show? I guess it's one of those that I appreciate for being a classic, and it is, having reached it's 25 year anniversary and publicizing it's record as the longest running American musical (take that Phantom). Watching that Fossee choreography is always special and some of these songs do feel really nostalgic. That being said, I think what I associate Chicago with the most is the people walking around timesquare trying to get you to see Chicago, or the endless round of celebrities they send through that show trying to keep it relevant. Personally, I'd be interested to see somebody try to do a very new and daring chicago (maybe we modernize it? Maybe we imply that the whole thing was Roxie's fever dream and she never killed nobody? Maybe we do the whole thing in Hungarian except for that one line in Cell Block Tango that's in English?), but I didn't expect there to be much this performance could do that would make me interested in the current show running on Broadway.

I was right. I mean, it was fine. They did fine. Everything is fine. The fossee choreo was very fun, and making half of it just a dance break was a bold move. But of all the performances this year, this one had to be the most "meh" for me. I think it's great that Fossee is still being shown and I'm sure it's kind of special for this cast to be performing in a production that's probably be running for longer than some of them have been alive. I don'n't mind it being on the parade I guess, but all in all, I just can't say I get all the "whoopee."

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Waitress

The Macy's Square performances will always be my favorite, but I do like the CBS performances a good deal, and it's always fun to see the shows performing in their home theaters. Waitress as a show is one of those that, like, is fine, but I can't help but be surprised that it's had the staying power it has. Like, don't get me wrong, the music is kind of catchy and the story is kind of sweet, but it's not really what I would think of a as a long running show that would last 5 years on the boards. One of the ways they've accomplished this no doubt is by putting in big stars like Sara Bareilles, Jeremy Jordan, Todrick Hall and even Al Roker, which makes it feel a little gimicky. But I guess if people are having fun with the show, I won't stop them.

Waitress has done the parade twice before, and I think they even performed this same song on the CBS broadcast the last time they did it so..that's kind of a bummer. I don't think this is a great song choice to be honest, I'd much prefer one of the group numbers, and if you're going to do a quirky love song, give us one of the Oggie/Dawn ones, because that's just more fun as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure this choice is influenced by showcasing their stars and maybe by saving production costs by only bringing in the two of them, but it was still a little dissapointing. I think I'm especially disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing Ciara Renee, Joshua Henry, and Nik Dodani who have all recently joined the cast, but I guess they haven't started yet? Anyway, those dissapointments aside, this was nice. I thought Erich Bergen delivered the song really well (and I'm a bit of a connoisseur for awkward quirkly love songs) so that was pleasant enough I guess. Didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, but perhaps a bland one.